Florida painter, Everglades, Marco Island, artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

3/18/09

Rare Orchid, On the Banks daily painting by Everglades artist JoAnn Sanborn


On the Banks
7" x 5" (17.8cm x 12.7cm)
acrylic on Panel
Sold

How exciting to learn, first on Twitter and then as a headline in today's Naples Daily News, that an orchid which no one has seen for almost 50 years years is thriving in the Fahahatchee strand! Three plants of the elusive orchid, were last seen in 1961 by a biologist who took the plants home to document them and save them from an area soon to be developed. No one has seen orchid Cyclopogon elatus since.

It’s really only kind of orchid nerds who are going to appreciate this, but it’s kind of cool,” Miami environmental scientist Chris Little, who made the find said Tuesday. He's wrong, because some of us who don't know the first thing about wild orchids are also celebrating the find.

Good biological news gives those of us who are sure we're on a doomed planet over run by a destructive dominant species hope that the earth is finding ways of renewing itself. Plus, it's delightful to know that the earth still has surprises for us.

You can find out more about Florida orchids at discoverer Chris Little's website and learn more about the Fakahatchee here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Today's Celebrity Cipher reads:

..do something. Pay your rent for the privilege of living on this beautiful blue-green living earth. Dave Foreman

Well said, I think. I agree with you, many people applaud and appreciate our world and don't know the first thing about orchids.

Carol Kinkead

Jo-Ann Sanborn said...

You're right Carol, we don't know much, but appreciate their beauty. How wonderful to see them in the wild!

nina kuriloff said...

this is a lovely painting!

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